Universal Salt Iodization (USI) - FTP Directory Listing

46FEATURESFigure 2: IDD/USI Taskforce Partnership in Nigeriawww.unsystem.org/scnNigeria USI Program OverviewIDD Program Coordination, Activities & Implementing AgenciesCoordinating Focal Point: FMOHIECDatabaseNutrition SurveillanceIDD-USI TASK FORCE: SONFMOHFMEIECINDUSTRYNAFDACSONFood ControlNAFDACFMEFMOHNationalMNMEventsConsumerHealthEducationBrandedCampaign&SchoolsGenericCampaign& GovtAdvocacyPortFactoryInspectionDistributorRetailInspectionSchoolHouseholdSurveysSentinelSites.Labs.This partnership has enabled all stakeholders to monitor trends in compliance at factory, wholesale, retail andhousehold levels and intervene where necessary.ResultsResults in terms of coverage of iodization:• Iodization at factory level: Since 1995, records of inspection at ports of entry and at salt factoriesconsistently indicate 90 100% of consignments with iodine levels above 50ppm.• Iodization at wholesale and retail levels: Results of wholesale and retail level surveys for 2002, 2003 and2005 indicate that 97-100% of salt meet the standard of more than 30ppm iodine content. Since 2002,approximately 20,000 salt samples have been analyzed.• Access to iodized salt at household level: Results consistently indicate that access to adequately iodizedsalt at the household level is over 98%.• Median urinary iodine excretion levels: Biochemical assessments of urinary iodine mirrors the dramaticallylower TGR recorded during the 1990s. A study published in Public Health Nutrition in 1998 reported meanlevels of urinary iodine content of 146.5 μg/dl with a median of 133.9 μg/dl. In 2002, the study of the 16endemic states by Egbuta et al reported urinary iodine content of 90-156 μg/dl. These results werereaffirmed by the Nigeria Food Consumption and Nutrition Survey (NFCNS) undertaken by theInternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in 2001, which found median urinary iodine levels inchildren under 5 years of age to range from 119 to 309 μg/dl. The UNICEF 2005 National TGR andUrinary Iodine Survey recorded a value of 131 μg/dl urinary iodine level.• Total goitre rate: Studies confirm the impact of Nigeria’s USI law on goitre prevalence: In 30 states, peopleaffected dropped from 40 million in 1990 to less than 11 million in 1999 (ICCIDD 2000). The Nigeria‘Damage Assessment Report’ (UNICEF/MI 2004) estimated a lower TGR of 7.7%. A national survey in2005 put the national TGR at 6.2% (UNICEF 2005).Having achieved sustained 98% of households’ access to adequately iodized salt since 1998, a goitreprevalence rate of about 6%, and a median urinary iodine excretion of more than 130 μg/dl since 1999,Nigeria was certified as USI compliant in 2005 by the Network for Sustained Elimination of Iodine Deficiency.This made Nigeria the first country in Africa to achieve this feat. Nigeria currently ranks 6 th on the globaliodized salt consumption out of the 200 countries assessed and reported on the 2006 Global Score Card.Furthermore, the 10 point criteria for USI certification had been met, namely evidence of politicalcommitment, a functional national multi-disciplinary body on IDD/USI, a national executive officer for IDDelimination, legislation and regulation on USI, commitment to assessment and re-assessment of progress,SCN NEWS # 35 back to contents